A key focus of this blog is the history of Jacksons in Ireland. I am specially curious about those who may be related to Sir Thomas Jackson (1841-1915). His life is key to understanding how a dozen or so young men, sons of Irish tenant farmers, shaped the future of international banking in the Far East in the late 1800s. I also use this blog as a place for playful posts: book and restaurant reviews, recipes, and events in my life. WARNING: Note the date of each post. Some may be outdated.

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Friday, February 15, 2013

Sharon’s dumbed-down Boeuf Bourguignon

Many of her recipes are family-friendly and easy.

A scene in Julie and Juliamakes Boeuf
Bourguignon recipe look as if it were a major undertaking. It is actually a
snap. One can even improvise and make it easier still. I do. For me, it is one of those meals that I can do with one hand tied behind my back. Well, almost.
Here my dumbed down approach, which is still knock-out delicious.After all, it isreally nothing
more than beef stew with red wine.

Sharon’s dumbed-down Boeuf
Bourguignon

I use a 4 quart casserole pot that works as well on top of the
stove as in it. It is one of those porcelain-covered cast iron jobs. Sometimes, I
even serve it right out of this pot. After all, it is comfort food.

Ingredients

What do to

3 lbs stew beef

I usually buy stewing
beef sold as a pot roast or chuck steak because it is cheaper than beef that is already cut up. Then I trim the fatty bits, and toss them into the pot where I render them so I can use
the fat to braise the beef. If I need more fat, I add some oil. Meanwhile, I cut the beef into bite-sized pieces, then you sear them in the rendered fat.

You need to sear the beef fast at a fairly high heat. As
soon as the pieces are browned, remove them from the pot. NOTE: Do not crowd them, or else the
moisture released will steam rather than brown them. Do them bit by bit and
remove each batch before adding more. When they are all done, pour off the
excess fat,

3 cups red wine
that tastes good enough to drink

Use it to deglaze
the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. NOTE: Full bodied wines from France are my choice.

2 cups beef
boullion

This is the
cheating part – I don’t make the broth from scratch. I use one can of
condensed beef broth and a canful of water.Add the seared beef to the wine in the pot, and then add the broth.

1 T tomato paste

3 cloves finely
chopped garlic

½ tsp fresh thyme

Add these three
ingredients to the rest of the ingredients in the pot, and stir. There should be enough liquid to cover the
meat. If not, add more broth or water. NOTE:
I keep tablespoons of tomato paste frozen and at the ready. It is simple.
I plop 1T mounds of it on some waxed paper, freeze
them, and then pop them into a Ziploc baggie.

Once the beef,
broth, wine and seasonings have reached a simmer point, put the covered pot into
a 325F oven, and you are free to go and read a book and drink wine for 2 ½ hours. Beneath is
what you need for the final stage:

1 lb fresh
mushrooms

My favourites are
King Oyster mushrooms, but you can’t get them everywhere. Crimini mushrooms
are my 2nd choice. Clean them, and then chop them into quarters or
slices, whatever suits your fancy. Think bite-sized.

18-24 small
onions – 1” diameter

This is a second
place where cheating may be desirable. Small onions are finicky, although if
you want to impress someone – even yourself – they are the way to go. Hunks
of onion work pretty well too. Again, think bite-sized.

½ T oil

2 T butter

Heat this
until it froths, then drop in the chopped mushrooms, and toss them until they
are slightly brown. Do likewise with the onions – only slightly carmelized.

After the beef
has been simmering for 2 ½ hours, add the onions and mushrooms, and simmer
for ½ hour. Remove from the oven. Pour off at least 2 cups of the broth which
you will then add slowly to the roux that you will make next.

3 T softened
butter

3T Flour

Make a roux. If
you don’t know how, Google roux.
Once the flour & butter are ready, add some of the broth, slowly at
first, then whisk, then add more, until you have added about 2 cups of liquid
and the liquid has thickened. Then return it to the meat mixture, stir it in,
and pop it back into the oven while you make a salad or whatever.

Serve with
potatoes, or egg noodles, and cooked veg and/or a robust salad. Oh yes, and open
another bottle of a decent, affordable red wine. One worthy of you.

About Me

Author And Researcher. I am currently writing a book on the life of Sir Thomas Jackson. He was the son of tenant farmers, born just before the Famine in South Armagh, who was knighted because he not only lead HSBC into the 20th Century, but was also responsible for assisting with the funding of much of the economic development in China & Japan in the late 1800s. My first published book was "Some Become Flowers: Living with Dying at Home".